Lily Frenette

What’s It Really Like?

Each semester IFSA-Butler students chronicle their adventures and experiences as they live and study in different countries. Read a firsthand perspective of how cultural and educational differences shape their journey.

My Posts

Everyone warns you about the perils of reverse culture shock. The readjustment period will take you by surprise and spin you round. you’re changed so much, but everything at home remains the same. But, in truth, going from NYC to the Midwest every summer isn’t very different.

I’m not discounting that there are things that threw me for a loop. Not translating everything to Spanish is one. Also I don’t have to be as aware of my iPhone al the time. (I’m counting it as a success that I never lost mine.) Not being able to take the sube or grab a colectivo is another. The lack of conversations between strangers is something I didn’t think I would miss. But I’m used to going through changes with every return.

I knew I needed to go home. I missed my family and friends. I had lots of projects I needed to catch up on and events to attend. I wanted to be in my home, in nature again.

But I already miss it. I miss the movement of the city, the pleasure of wandering the streets of Palermo. I miss engaging with people. I miss the interior of Argentina with all the different environments. I didn’t get to travel as much as I wanted and there’s still so much to see.

I’m not sure when I’ll get to travel abroad again and not sure I’ll return to Argentina for awhile. It seems a waste of my travel capital to go back so soon. I know I want to use my Spanish again for my next trip. I’ll be back to see more of South & Latin America.

In the mean time I’ll get used to the US. Enjoy the comfort of the lakes, go hiking. But I’ll always be thinking about how the rest of the world is so different from the US.

It’s all coming to an end. With less than a week left, I know it will soon be over. I’m currently trying to fit one las trip into my semester by visiting Salta & Jujuy – a beautiful area in the north east of Argentina. I didn’t get to see a whole lot of the country, but I tried to make it to as much as I could and I’m glad I’m making this trip, even if it’s causing me trouble.

It’s not an easy thing to admit, but I am a procrastinator. For various reasons, all my own fault, I put almost everything off until the last minute. Unless you are a super calm person, this is not a position I recommend being in. If you’re interested, here’s a run down of what my finals are like.

Two of my classes are finished. Possibly my favorite class was an overview of Argentine literature with Martin Kohan, a well-known author here. We had studied authors like Borges, Art, Cortázar, and Walsh. I wasn’t super worried about it, but I studied hard and took an exam I felt I did well on. Martin had a very easy way of explaining things and it set me at ease.Read More »

This blog is supposed to be about my experiences with the program and explorations around my host city, but with the end coming near I hope you all will indulge me. Here is a blog about one of the natural wonders of the world. It’s the one place all Argentine students must visit – Iguzaú.

Iguazú Falls holds the world record for largest series of waterfalls. That should be enough to convince any person who has the opportunity to go, to go. If that doesn’t, here’s my honest opinion: Iguazú is one of the most breathtaking visions I have ever seen in my life. I have seen a ton of waterfalls, including Niagara, but this moved every bit of me.

When my travel buddies and I arrived at the National Park, we first went up to La Garganta del Diablo. The Devil’s Throat sits on top of the falls, billowing mist and allowing for a spectacular view of many falls. It was a cold day and the mist seeped through my rain jacket, but I couldn’t have cared any less. I spent so long taking photos that I had to tell myself to put the camera down and enjoy the view.

After a quick tram ride back to the main area we set off on the Lower Trail, which led us to a series of falls and a magical view. The waterfalls all in a row with a mystical island in the center. I wish we had been able to visit the island, but it was such a full day, we wouldn’t have had time.

From all the students who had visited before we had heard about a boat ride into the falls. We took a short trail down to the edge of the water, towards the boat launch. After putting our bags in drypacks and taking off our shoes, we were off. Seeing the falls up close was amazing. I could barely keep my eyes open with all the mist, but I fought it. This was to cool of an experience to miss. After the boat ride was over though, I really wished we had visited on a warmer day.

Our last bit of the trip was to hike the upper trail – a path that let us see another inspiring view and the tops of more falls. We sat and watched as the sun hit the tops of the trees. As we walked away from the falls we encountered our one and only monkey. It was unfortunately too quick for me to take a good photo.

This experience was so fantastic. If you visit Argentina or come to study, you must go see Iguazú Falls. It’s worth the trip.

Coming to Buenos Aires, I was constantly warned about how much I was going to miss out on by keeping to my vegetarian diet. I considered eating back before I came. My main issue is with the US food industry, so eating meat here doesn’t have the same meaning. But when I got here and learned that my host mom was also vegetarian, I decided to stick with it.

Being a vegetarian here was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I get breakfast every day and dinner every night, except Saturday from my host mom. She cooks great rice dishes, polenta, or vegetable milanesas and large salads. Though there is more cabbage than I’m used to, the food is great and much healthier than I would cook for myself. A lot of the time for lunch I make myself simple sandwiches or pasta, but sometimes I like to switch things up.

Empanadas are simple, easy to find, and there is almost always a vegetarian option. My favorite types of empanadas include caprese, humita (which is a corn dish made with both fresh regular corn and creamed white corn), cheese and onion, and plain veggie. Empanadas are also great because sometimes they are very cheap even at high quality.

Also Buenos Aires, being a city of many immigrants, has lots of restaurants from other cultures. Chinese food, italian, Indian, and other cuisines all offer great vegetarian dishes. Because of the cosmopolitan nature of the city, there is an environment of acceptance for those who choose not to eat meat. Even though most people here swear by their steak, it’s normal to find options without it or other meats. There are also lots of dieteticas that cater to those looking for health conscious options.

Plus, one can’t forget that most desserts (like flan and alfajores, among others) are vegetarian!

People from the US generally live full lives. They are always busy with work, chores, or various other activities. Even things that are supposed to be fun take on a quality of value – how much of my time is this worth? What do I get out of it?

To Argentinians none of that matters. The point of life is not to complete x number of things before you die, but to enjoy yourself in all possible moments and to not rush through life. Why would running to meet someone for coffee be any more worthwhile than strolling slowly and taking in your surrounding? The two of you will meet either way.

Argentinians enjoy staying in coffee shops for hours, whether chatting or simply starting off at nothing. A term I learned from my host mom is hacer fiaca, do nothing intellectual and simply lay about. Life may move forward, you will catch up eventually.

This is all possible because the people of Argentina jointly decided it was okay. If I decided to show up late for class or sit in a cafe for hours in the US, people would be angry with me. Even though I know I can’t continue these habits back home, it has taught me not to worry about filling every second with something worthwhile and to not rush through life.

It might be a weird thing to say, but as a writing student, I didn’t look at many books during the Feria de Libros. La Feria is a giant festival for books, with stands for booksellers, publishers, anyone who wants to sell something tangentially related to books or reading. There are signings and talks from authors. Though most fairs of this kind are only open to business insiders, the second week of the Buenos Aires fair is open to the public and the porteño people flock to it, even if they’re not generally readers. You could spend all day at the Feria, maybe even two or three. I had only one hour.

Now that I’ve had more time to explore Buenos Aires and my neighborhood of Palermo, I’ve found quite a few fun spots. Some of them are parks, others are music spots, and a lot of them are bookstores. Here is a run down of a few of my favorite locals.

One of the things I miss most about home is nature. There are plenty of wonderful parks here in Buenos Aires. They’re open with lots of places to lay down and relax or trails to bike and walk on. It’s easy to get to them and they are enjoyable, but they are city parks. The nature in them was designed and landscaped to create a perfect urban resting place. While they work great for chatting with friends or doing homework, they don’t fulfill my need to be outside enjoying nature.

The weekend before classes really started everyone in the Buenos Aires program was swept away for a short vacation in Uruguay. The first few weeks had been intense, with us trying to get a grip on a new country, getting used to living 24/7 in Spanish, and working with a completely different university system. Uruguay was a chance for a break before we had to buckle down.

Going to a new place always requires an adjustment, but I was surprised by what felt completely normal and what I’m still getting used to here in Argentina. When I first arrived, Buenos Aires was in the middle of a heat wave. From my first step out of the airport until the miraculous day a week later when a storm hit and the heat broke, I could’ve sworn the climate would kill me. (Side Note: I should’ve packed more dresses. All the pants I have caused me to overheat.) After a week of normal temperatures, while my home in Minnesota goes from a tornado, to snow, to sun, I know I will enjoy Argentinian weather. Read More »

These are the questions I ask myself as I pack to live in a warm climate for the first time in my life. I’m Lily Frenette, a girl from Minnesota, who goes to school in New York. While both places have their warm seasons, most of the time it’s cold, bordering on Arctic. But this semester I’ll be living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, studying with the Argentine Universities Program. While I’m very excited to be studying Spanish in a Spanish speaking country, I have no idea what I’ll wear on a regular basis in a place that averages between 76 and 53 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year.

I end up keeping the dresses and a sweater, but leave out the sandals. I have a pair of flats and hiking sandals, as well as hiking boots and my trusty pair of converse high tops – that should get me through the semester. I have other packing issues though. I’m unsure of how much of my hiking gear and clothes I need to bring. Hiking is a passion of mine, but I currently have no idea of my schedule and so don’t know how much time I’ll have to go explore. I’m also unsure if I’m bringing too many notebooks and cameras. At school I concentrate in writing and photography, which means I always have four different notebooks and three cameras on me at all times. Even though I know I would regret it if I leave one at home, I still worry that I won’t end up using them.

My flight leaves in two days. I believe I’m as ready as I can be, but with a new place there’s no way to be sure. It’s almost guaranteed that once I get settled into Buenos Aires, I’ll realize I left something important behind. As awful as that feeling is, I just have to accept it. Once I’m in Argentina, I can’t have my parent mail me items like they used to bring me my gym clothes when I accidentally left them at home. Plus, there’s an upside to this. If I find I’ve left something in the US, maybe I’ll realize it’s not necessary at all.